The goal is to return the theater to what it looked like the day it opened in 1927...

In 1972, a young radiologist and classically trained pianist paid a visit to the Saenger Theatre on Canal Street. He knew the theater had a spectacular, little-used Robert Morton organ, and he wanted to play it.

“I just went and knocked on the door,” said Dr. Barry Henry. “The engineer for the building was a little suspicious, but he brought me in and uncovered the organ. The lights were off. We turned on the organ, and there were all kinds of wind noises and swishing. It obviously had water damage. I tried to play it, and he said, ‘It sounded better the last time I heard it.’”

So began a lifelong passion, as Henry spent years repairing and playing the organ. Today he continues to celebrate the life and history of the Saenger, which has been closed since Hurricane Katrina.

In honor of the theater’s scheduled reopening in 2013, administrators are launching a campaign called Share Your Saenger Stories, encouraging New Orleanians to post photos, videos and anecdotes that express their memories of the 85-year-old theater. Mayor Mitch Landrieu has kicked off the campaign with a video describing his Saenger experiences dating back to childhood. But perhaps no one has more Saenger stories than Henry, whose memorabilia — from an invitation to the theater’s 1927 dedication, to a swatch of its original carpet — could fill a museum exhibit.

Henry’s collection, accrued over 40 years, features classic playbills, stock certificates, and meeting minutes. Vintage photos depict the Saenger’s chandeliers, columns, art gallery — even its powder room. A portrait of co-founder Julian Saenger hangs in his dining room. Each item elicits a story, and when Henry begins to speak about the Saenger, anecdotes tumble from his mouth and pile atop one another.

Tell Your Saenger Stories

Initially, he invested a good deal of time and money into bringing the organ back to life.

“In the early years, I would bring a toolbox and work on it from like 8 in the evening till 1 in the morning,” he said.

But in 1974, he heard rumblings that the Saenger was going to be torn down.

“There was talk of making it into a parking lot, a Chinese restaurant, all kinds of stuff,” he said.

In response, Henry and a group including jazz historian Jack Stewart, artist George Schmidt and Henrietta Ash Wittenberg, Julian Saenger’s niece, formed the group City Lights to help save the Saenger and other downtown theaters. In 1977, they succeeded in adding the Saenger to the National Register of Historic Places.

Henry never had to worry about bulldozers again, but in the seven years since Hurricane Katrina, the theater remained shuttered. Enter the $52 million renovation being led by the city, the ACE Theatrical Group and the Canal Street Development Corp. in a public-private partnership.

In addition to returning the theater to a functional state, one of the project’s main goals is to enlarge the stage house.

“The Saenger was one of the smaller stages in America, and some of your mega Broadway productions couldn’t be presented there,” said David Skinner, who serves as general manager of the Saenger and the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the ACE Theatrical Group. “It couldn’t host touring attractions like ‘Wicked,’ ‘Lion King,’ and ‘Jersey Boys.’ So we’re doubling the stage house and increasing support space.”

A revamp of the front of the house also is planned.

“The goal is to return the theater to what it looked like the day it opened in 1927, bringing back all the grandeur of that time,” Skinner said.

The Saenger has always been known for its opulent architecture. Emile Weil designed the atmospheric theater to evoke a 15th century Italian courtyard, replete with Greco-Roman statues. Its greatest showpiece is the ceiling; painted blue and featuring lights laid out in the shape of constellations, it creates the feeling of being outdoors at night.

“They’re planning a really first-class restoration, not a renovation,” Henry said. “They’re trying to acquire period chandeliers. They’re actually scraping down into the paints, trying to figure out (the original colors).”

Henry wasn’t around to see the Saenger when it first opened, but he was a vital part of the theater during some of its best years. Not only did he help save it, but he also played its organ when the likes of Johnny Carson and Bob Hope performed.

Now, after nearly a decade lost, Henry eagerly awaits the Saenger’s reopening. But much to his dismay, no funds have been designated to restore the organ, which was severely damaged during Katrina.

“I’m looking forward to a beautiful restoration,” said Henry, who plans to be there on opening night. “But for me, it won’t be a full restoration until the organ is playing. It’s always been a beloved part of the theater.”